Patron-Plus Members Lecture | “With Hidden Noise: The Worlds of Toshiko Takaezu”

Glenn Adamson
Toshiko Takaezu, Purple Moon, c. 1998, stoneware, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Leatrice S. and Melvin B. Eagle Collection, gift of Leatrice and Melvin Eagle. © Family of Toshiko Takaezu
March 1, 2025
MFAH members at the Patron, Supporting, Sponsor, Benefactor, and Leadership Circle are invited to this exclusive lecture presented by Glenn Adamson, independent curator and writer and co-curator of the exhibition Toshiko Takaezu.
Adamson will provide an inside account of Toshiko Takaezu’s career and artistry, which bridged the disciplines of ceramics, weaving, bronze, and painting. He will reference key works in the MFAH collection and explore Takaezu's relationship to peers such as Peter Voulkos and Lenore Tawney. Adamson will also bring us imaginatively inside Takaezu’s work, which was animated by sound and motion–one of the ways that she infused her work with a powerful, cosmic presence.
Plan Your Visit
- The lecture takes place in Brown Auditorium Theater in the Law Building. Capacity is limited, and seating is first come, first served. Doors open at 4:30 p.m.
- A ticketed reception follows at 6 p.m. on the street level of the Beck Building.
- Recommended parking at the Beck Garage. NOTE: After 5 p.m., the only Museum parking is at the Beck Garage.
- Museum Hours | Parking Information | MFAH Campus Map
Related Events
- Patron-Plus Members Preview | Saturday, March 1, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
- Patron-Plus Members Reception | Saturday, March 1, 6 p.m.
About the Speaker
Glenn Adamson is a curator, writer and historian based in New York and London. Dr. Adamson has previously been Director of the Museum of Arts and Design and Head of Research at the V&A. Adamson’s publications include Thinking Through Craft (2007); The Craft Reader (2010); Postmodernism: Style and Subversion (2011, with Jane Pavitt); The Invention of Craft (2013); Art in the Making (2016, with Julia Bryan-Wilson); Fewer Better Things: The Hidden Wisdom of Objects (2018); Objects: USA 2020; and Craft: An American History (2021). His most recent book, A Century of Tomorrows, was published by Bloomsbury in December 2024. Adamson is Artistic Director for Design Doha, a biennial in Qatar; curator at large for the Vitra Design Museum; and editor of Material Intelligence, a quarterly online journal published by the Chipstone Foundation.
Questions? Contact the Membership Department at 713.639.7550, Monday–Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. or email membership@mfah.org at any time.
► If you are not yet an MFAH member at the Patron level or above, join or upgrade now for access to this event and other great benefits!
"Toshiko Takaezu: Worlds Within" is organized by The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum, with assistance from the Toshiko Takaezu Foundation and the Takaezu family.
The exhibition and its national tour have been made possible through lead support from the Henry Luce Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art.
Major support is provided by:
Sara and Bill Morgan
Generous support is provided by:
Lenore G. Tawney Foundation
Michael W. Dale Exhibitions Endowment for Decorative Arts, Craft, and Design
John R. Eckel, Jr. Foundation
James Cohan Gallery
Anne Lamkin Kinder
Nana Booker
Bettie Cartwright
Leatrice and Melvin Eagle
Kerry F. Inman and Denby Auble
Scott & Judy Nyquist
Ted L. Rowland
Jeffrey Spahn
Toshiko Takaezu Foundation
Friends of Toshiko Takaezu
The exhibition is co-curated by Noguchi Museum curator Kate Wiener, independent curator Glenn Adamson, and sound artist and composer Leilehua Lanzilotti. The exhibition was conceived and developed with former Noguchi Museum Senior Curator Dakin Hart.